But it all worked out because the five meals all came in one huge dish

Oooh, have you never had Ethiopian or Eritrean food before? (When I started reading the paragraph, I thought you meant you'd just never been to that particular restaurant before.)

I am immensely thankful to the senior who introduced me to Ethiopian food my freshman year in college. It's one of my favorite cuisines, and being in West Philly, I live near all 3 Ethiopian restaurants in the city, heh. (Although I still only go to 1.)